The Institute for the Study of War, a hawkish think tank in Washington, is funded by defense contractors, which means it favors a militarized and confrontational foreign policy.
To understand where U.S-Russia Cold War is going–where it will be fought and how–I follow ISW, albeit with care. Russia’s spy games do not justify another Cold War but they aren’t a figment of neoconservative imagination.
“Russia is serious about integrating information operations with both conventional and unconventional military operations,” the ISW report says.
That’s a pretty good summary of Russian tactics in destabilizing Ukraine with “little green men” and disinformation around the downing of civilian airliner that killed 298 people. Russian special forces caused the crash according to Dutch Safety Board.
The key take away the idea of propaganda has given way to the new concept of “information space.”
Here’s an excerpt from the ISW Report on Russia’s “New Tools for Wielding Information.”
The Kremlin took a significant step to enhance the military’s ability to control the information space within the Russian Armed Forces by establishing a Military-Political Directorate within the Russian Ministry of Defense. This Directorate could also support efforts to shape the information space abroad. The U.S. and NATO must recognize that Russia is serious about integrating information operations with both conventional and unconventional military operations down to the lowest levels of combat and adjust their preparations for potential conflict with Russia accordingly.
Source: ISW Blog: Russia’s New Tool for Wielding Information
